The History of the World Cup in 20 Charts | FiveThirtyEight The History of the World Cup in 20 Charts Jun 12, 2014 at 3:13 PM The History of the World Cup in 20 Charts Email Brazil, the World Cup host and the clear favorite (in our view ), will start off the tournament Thursday with a match against Croatia. Soon after, 30 other countries will take to the pitch with varying prospects of achieving their World Cup dreams. See the FiveThirtyEight World Cup predictions for more on that. But first: a brief tour of World Cup history. We wanted to answer a few basic questions: How often do favorites win? How often do host nations win? Is the spread of soccer talent throughout the world becoming more top-heavy or more even? More Sports The 20 charts below provide some answers. They rank each team that entered the World Cup based on its Elo ratings before the tournament . These Elo ratings, which were adopted from a system developed for chess , have relatively little meaning in an absolute sense. We could say, for example, that Italy has an Elo rating of 1879 — but it’s not clear what you’d do with that.

The Elo system is set up such that the average team has a rating of 1500. There are more than 200 countries that field national soccer teams, however, so being average (as Cape Verde or Trinidad and Tobago are, according to Elo) won’t normally get a team into the World Cup field, much less win it the trophy. So instead we’ve compared each team’s rating with that of the 32nd-best team in the world, according to Elo (whether or not team No. 32 qualified for the World Cup), at the time the World Cup began. 1 The 32nd-best team has gotten quite a bit better over the years, having gone from an Elo rating of 1540 in 1930, to one of 1707 this year. (The 32nd-best team in the world is currently Costa Rica, according to Elo.) Of course, the field has also expanded — from 13 teams in 1930 to 32 in World Cups played since 1998.

The charts include one other important adjustment: We’ve given a 100-point bonus, in accordance with the Elo system’s recommended value , to the host nation. 2 The 1930 World Cup, the first on our tour, was one where the home-nation adjustment makes a difference. Held in Uruguay, it was composed mostly of teams from the Americas; few European nations were willing to make the journey. Argentina and Uruguay were the two best teams in the field by some margin, with Argentina just slightly ahead in the Elo ratings. But Uruguay’s home-nation status was enough to make it the favorite. The two met in the finals in Montevideo, with Uruguay winning 4-2. More surprising: The United States and Yugoslavia won their groups and advanced to the semifinal, ahead of the higher-rated Brazil and Paraguay. Italy played host to the 1934 World Cup. Several South American teams, including Uruguay, declined to participate, as did the countries of the United Kingdom. Overall, however, the field was deeper and had more parity than four years earlier. Italy, Argentina and Austria would essentially have been co-favorites before the tournament began, with Italy slightly ahead on the basis of the home-country effect.

Indeed, Italy won. Italy was also the favorite in the 1938 World Cup, which was played in France under the cloud of creeping European fascism. Italy was a clear favorite because Argentina, No. 2 in the Elo ratings at the time and disappointed that Europe had hosted two World Cups in a row, refused to participate. Italy won, keeping the streak alive for Elo favorites. But when the World Cup returned in 1950 after a 12-year hiatus because of World War II and its aftermath, there was a surprise in store. Brazil hosted the tournament and, with its home-country boost, would have been the slight favorite per Elo. But it was a deep field — with England participating for the first time, and strong entrants from Italy, Sweden and several other countries (although Argentina again declined to enter). Uruguay, just the ninth-best team in the field, according to Elo, prevailed in a famous upset . We’ll accelerate our pace a bit now that we’ve gotten the hang of this. The 1954 World Cup, held in Switzerland, featured another famous upset in the final, with West Germany defeating heavily favored Hungary in the so-called Miracle of Bern.

The 1958 World Cup featured a deep and competitive field. Hungary or Argentina would probably have been the favorite, but Brazil and England were not far behind them. Brazil won for the first time. This touched off Brazil’s golden era, helmed by its star Pelé. The team entered the 1962 World Cup in Chile as the favorite, and it won — marking the last time a team has won two consecutive World Cups. By 1966, Brazil’s Elo rating had slipped closer to the rest of the world. Among a deep group of contenders, England would have been the Elo favorite because of its host-nation status. And just this once, England won. The 1970 World Cup, held in Mexico, featured one of the deepest fields ever. England was nominally the favorite again, according to Elo, but five other countries were within 100 points of it — including the eventual winner, Brazil. The 1974 World Cup, by contrast, had a relatively clear favorite.

West Germany and Brazil were the best teams in the world by some margin, but West Germany, led by Franz Beckenbauer and having built momentum by winning the 1972 European Championships, played host to the tournament and won. The 1978 World Cup, held in and won by Argentina, is one of the least fondly remembered. Argentina was ruled by a military junta, which had come to power in 1976 after the overthrow of Isabel Perón. That World Cup has also long been associated with accusations of match-fixing . Was Argentina’s home-country advantage, for whatever reason, larger than usual? It’s hard to say; Argentina was a good team on its football merits, and the customary 100-point home-country boost would have put it in a group of front-runners that included West Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil. Spain hosted the World Cup in 1982; West Germany and Brazil would have been the favorites, according to Elo. Instead, it was Italy — just the 12th-best team in the field — that won. The 1986 World Cup initiated an era of relative parity.

It would have been hard to pick a favorite: 14 teams, including the host, Mexico, were stacked within 140 Elo points of one another, and they weren’t that far ahead of some of the also-rans. Argentina won, not uncontroversially, on Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal . The 1990 World Cup also featured a fairly flat distribution of talent, although the host, Italy, would have been the nominal favorite on the basis of the home-country advantage. West Germany won instead after a low-scoring and poorly played World Cup. The World Cup returned to the Americas in 1994, when it was held in the United States. This was perhaps the first time that the host nation had no real chance of winning; the U.S. was rated as just the 18th-best team, despite its home-country boost. Much like the 1986 tournament, there was a large group of good-but-not-great teams atop the field. The Brazilian team, led by Romário and Bebeto, won in Pasadena, California, after Roberto Baggio’s penalty kick sailed over the crossbar .

The 1998 World Cup featured co-favorites, according to Elo: France and Brazil were tied in Elo entering the tournament (after giving France its 100-point home-country bonus). Those two teams met in the final, and France won 3-0. The 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, was one of the oddest tournaments. France was the best team entering the tournament, according to Elo, but it went winless in the group stage. The final featured some customary names — Brazil and Germany, with Brazil winning — but neither the Brazilian or German teams were especially strong by the Elo ratings. Turkey took third place despite being just the 23rd-best team in the field. The 2006 World Cup also featured a great deal of parity, with at least 10 plausible winners, including the host, Germany. It was Italy who prevailed over France on penalties in a final remembered for Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt . The past two World Cups, however, have seen a reversal in the trend of greater equality among footballing nations.

Brazil and Spain entered the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as the front-runners, with Brazil just two points ahead of Spain in Elo entering the tournament. In the final, Spain defeated the Netherlands, ranked third in the world per Elo. That brings us back, finally, to this year’s tournament. Here are the Elo ratings, and then a few closing observations. Brazil is the best team in the world, according to Elo, as it is in our Soccer Power Index. There have been several other times when a home country was close enough to the top in Elo that it would have been the favorite after accounting for its home-country bonus. However, this is the first time the No. 1-ranked Elo team also played host. That gives Brazil a significant edge on the rest of the field. In fact, the 506-point gap between Brazil (accounting for its home-country bonus) and the 32nd-best team in the world (Costa Rica) is the largest ever in the World Cup. The 127-point gap between Brazil and the second-best team, Spain, is the second-largest after Italy in 1938. That’s not to say Spain, Argentina and Germany are poor teams.

Spain’s Elo rating — 379 points ahead of the No. 32 team — would have made it the favorite in any World Cup played from 1986 through 2010. Argentina and Germany are strong enough that they would have been the favorites in a number of recent World Cups as well. Any of them would be a worthy champion, but they’ll have to get by Brazil. Footnotes We only collected Elo ratings data on the teams that qualified for the World Cup. Sometimes, the team ranked No. 32 in the world was not among them. Therefore, we extrapolated the rating for the No. 32 team by looking at others ranked close to that threshold — for example, by taking the average of the Nos. 30 and 34 teams’ Elo ratings if both teams qualified. This adjustment may be too conservative , especially for the earlier years of the competition. Allison McCann is a former visual journalist for FiveThirtyEight. @atmccann Nate Silver is the founder and editor in chief of FiveThirtyEight.

@natesilver538 Switzerland 1954 : World Cup Football Host Switzerland 1954 Tournament Despite Spain being a seeded team for the 1954 finals, they did not play in that final series, as they were eliminated in the qualifying round. For the 1954 World Cup, unlike now, the seeded teams for the finals were determined before the qualifying competition. After a tie with Turkey in the qualifying round, Spain lost a toss-up and were eliminated. Turkey then became a seeded team in the finals! When Hungary played West Germany in the 1954 Final, they were unbeaten in 29 matches in four years (including the Olympic Games). Their undefeated streak crashed when they lost 3-2 to the Germans. The Hungarian national team of the 50's, nicknamed 'The Magical Magyars', are regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of soccer. The Brazilian managers of 1954 (Zeze) and that of 1962 (Aimore Moreira) were the only brothers to have managed the same nation in World Cup finals.

The smallest city to have hosted a World Cup Final is Berne, 1954, at Wankdorf Stadium. World Cup Firsts The first replacement of player in a qualifying match was Germany's Horst Eckel replaced by Richard Gottinger against Saar on 11 October 1953. The first time the tradition of swapping shirts began in World Cup 1954. The first country to be eliminated by toss of coin in qualifying round was Spain which lost to Turkey on toss after a 2:2 tie in a play-off match on 17 March 1954.

Share: The best and worst World Cup hosts - Goal.com The best and worst World Cup hosts Featured 30 Nov 2010 13:35:00 From the highs of Germany 2006 to the lows of Brazil 1950 The staging of the World Cup on African soil earlier this year marked the competition's 80th birthday; but while the complexity of hosting world sport's most compelling jamboree has grown exponentially since Uruguay were awarded the inaugural event in 1930, bidding to become host nation has always been about politics, economics and prestige as much as geography. So with momentous decisions imminent regarding who will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, it is worth bearing in mind that the honour can be a mixed blessing. Not every host nation has made an unqualified success of it. THE FIVE BEST Italy 1934 Benito Mussolini's Italy saw the propaganda potential of hosting the 1934 World Cup and seized it with relish. The Fascist government offered to pick up all the bills of a tournament that could no longer be confined to a single location.

The Italian Federation promised to "use as its theatre the numerous and flourishing Italian cities, all provided with magnificent stadiums", and duly won the privilege. Italy also won the Cup, Il Duce attending games at Rome's Stadio Nazionale and fully exploiting the propaganda value of a tournament that also turned a handsome profit. Chile 1962 In 1962 the tournament returned to South America. The choice of Chile as hosts surprised many: they beat off bids from Argentina and West Germany, even though they lacked the stadia and footballing heritage of those candidates. And given the devastating earthquake that had struck the country in 1960, that they managed to stage the tournament at all was a wondrous feat. That disaster had prompted Fifa to consider reallocating the event, but they were persuaded otherwise when the president of Chile's FA, pleaded: "We have nothing, that is why we must have the World Cup." Two impressive stadia were built, and on balance the tournament was a success organisationally, complaints of corruption in the ticketing and overcharging for accommodation being swiftly dealt with by the authorities.

USA 1994 The 15th tournament was held across nine cities in the United States and despite misgivings based on the fact that football was not the traditional sport in the host country, the 1994 World Cup was a big success. The average attendance of nearly 69,000 set a new record, reflecting the larger capacities of American stadia (which included the Pontiac Silverdome, the first indoor stadium to be used in a World Cup) compared to those in Europe and South America. The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history. Fifa hoped that staging the tournament in the USA would lead to a growth of interest in the game, and imposed the condition that a professional football league be established there; Major League Soccer duly kicked off in 1996. France 1998 France got the chance to host its second World Cup in 1998, when the tournament format was expanded from 24 to 32 teams - and from 52 to 64 matches.

New features were the introduction of the 'golden goal' and that all teams had to travel in the group stage, with stadia hosting matches for multiple groups. Thousands of fans poured into France from all over, making security a major challenge. for the organisers. There were some serious incidents outside the stadia, but on the whole the hooligans were kept under control and fans mingled in a generally positive spirit. The French public themselves, initially somewhat indifferent to the privilege of hosting, became increasingly passionate as their team progressed and ultimately won the big prize. Germany 2006 Unified Germany won the right to host the 2006 World Cup, albeit contentiously, by a single vote over South Africa thanks to an abstention by the Oceania delegate. But having won it, the Germans did, by general consent, make an excellent job of it.

The country had an abundance of stadia that met Fifa's minimum capacity criterion of 40,000 seats for World Cup matches, several of them with a Uefa five-star rating, and 12 were selected to host World Cup matches - though many had to adopt different names for the duration, as Fifa prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the sponsors are also official Fifa sponsors. The tournament was a huge success for Germany as a whole, and the country enjoyed an upsurge in patriotic fervour. The visiting supporters from other countries also enjoyed themselves, with the designated fans' areas in host cities proving particularly popular and creating colourful, good-natured congregations. THE FIVE WORST France 1938 Fifa's 1936 congress in Berlin, capital of Nazi Germany, awarded France the hosting of the 1938 World Cup in preference to Argentina, who argued unsuccessfully that it should alternate between Europe and South America and then sulked by spurning the tournament. When it began, Europe was in the turmoil of looming war. Retention of the straight knock-out format was a deterrent, as it meant teams could travel thousands of miles by sea only to be eliminated after a single match.

Ten French cities hosted the matches over 15 days, and for the first time both the hosts (France) and holders (Italy) were given automatic qualification. Brazil 1950 On resumption of the tournament in 1950, Brazil staged the most chaotic and disorganised World Cup of them all, though Fifa must shoulder much of the blame. Although the format had been changed from straight knock-out to group-based, it was deeply flawed. Groups and venues were not matched, so teams had to criss-cross one of the largest countries on earth, clocking up thousands of miles to fulfil fixtures mere days apart within their own group. A rash of withdrawals including France, who baulked when appeals to change their exhausting itinerary were rejected, meant only 13 teams competed, split irrationally into two groups of four, one of three and one of two. Brazil, though, played all but one of their games in Rio, whose climate did visiting teams no favours.

Staggeringly too, the organisers had neglected to schedule an actual World Cup final, though lucky circumstance saved their faces on that one, as hosts Brazil met Uruguay in the last match of the final pool, and by good fortune earlier results meant one of them would win the pool and thus the Cup. The Maracana Stadium, designed to be the showpiece, was still under construction when the tournament began, and had not been finished even by the concluding match. A world record crowd of 199,854 nevertheless crammed in, approaching it via the chaotic surrounding building site. Switzerland 1954 Switzerland won the honour of staging the next competition because 1954 was the 50th anniversary of Fifa and the governing body's headquarters are in Switzerland. That country's accessibility made it a good choice, but in some respects the challenge was beyond the Swiss. The police were deemed over-zealous on occasion - ironic given some of the excesses that occurred on the pitch and particularly in the dressing rooms, where brawls and alleged doping took place.

Fifa's organising committee again conspired to meddle unhelpfully if not downright stupidly with the format of the tournament, seeding two teams in each of four groups but ensuring they only played the weakest teams and not each other. It was a recipe for manipulation. On the plus side, several goalscoring records were broken and the tournament was the first to be televised. Argentina 1978 Argentina finally won the right to host the tournament in 1978, thus ending nearly 50 years of disappointment and indignation. But the country’s unlovely military dictatorship ensured that many, including Johan Cruyff and Amnesty International, were opposed to the choice on political grounds. There were also security issues as anti-government guerrillas were active; and logistical objections, which the junta addressed by setting up a new body to expedite infrastructure projects. The tournament passed off smoothly, though the pervading atmosphere of conspiracy, corruption and coercion was hard to shake off. Spain 1982 From the farcical draw ceremony in Madrid to the ungainly format, Spain’s 1982 tournament was beset with problems.

The heat and anomalous scheduling of matches – which saw France and West Germany, both based in Madrid for the second round group games, obliged to travel to Seville for their semi-final, where they were delayed until the early hours of the morning at the airport – posed difficulties, while Mundiespana, the outfit to whom Spain’s Federation had handed responsibility for hotels and ticketing, infuriated many. Our History of FIFA - The first FIFA World Cup™ - FIFA.com History of FIFA - The first FIFA World Cup™ © FIFA.com The success of the Olympic Football Tournament intensified FlFA's wish for its own world championship. Questionnaires were sent to the affiliated associations, asking whether they agreed to the organisation of a tournament and under what conditions. A special committee examined the question, with President Jules Rimet the driving force. He was aided by the untiring Secretary of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay. Following a remarkable proposal by the Executive Committee, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam on 28 May 1928 decided to stage a world championship organised by FIFA. Now, the organising country had to be chosen. Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden submitted their candidatures.

Right from the start, Uruguay was the favourite and not simply for its Olympic gold medal wins in 1924 and 1928 - the country was celebrating its 100th anniversary of independence in 1930 at great expense. Moreover, its national association was willing to cover all the costs, including the travel and accommodation of the participating teams. Any possible profit would be shared, while Uruguay would take on the deficit. These arguments were decisive. The FIFA Congress in Barcelona in 1929 assigned Uruguay as first host country of the FIFA World Cup ™. The other candidates had withdrawn. With Europe in the midst of an economic crisis, not everything went to plan during the countdown to these first finals. Participation did not only involve a long sea journey for the Europeans; the clubs would have to renounce their best players for two months. Consequently, more and more associations broke their promise to participate and it took much manoeuvring by Rimet to ensure at least four European teams - France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia - joined him on the Conte Verde liner bound for Buenos Aires.

The first FIFA World Cup opened at the brand-new Estadio Centenario in Montevideo on 18 July 1930. It was the beginning of a new era in world football and the inaugural event proved a remarkable success, both in a sporting and a financial sense. Of course, the organisers were disappointed that only four European sides had participated. The anger in Montevideo was so intense in fact that four years later, world champions Uruguay became the first and only team to refuse to defend their title. When the Congress convened in Budapest in 1930, it thanked Uruguay for staging the world championship for the first time in difficult conditions. It also noted its regret at seeing only a minimum number of teams participating from Europe. The significance of the new tournament only increased following the setback FIFA suffered in the lead-up to the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. After failing to settle differences of opinion over the amateur status of footballers with the International Olympic Committee regarding the amateur status of football players, plans to organise the Olympic Football Tournament were abandoned. FIFA chose Italy ahead of rival candidates Sweden to host the second FIFA World Cup and this time it took qualifying matches to arrive at the 16 finalists.

Unlike in 1930 there were no groups and only knockout rounds, meaning Brazil and Argentina went home after playing just one match each. Once again, the home team prevailed, Italy winning the Final against Czechoslovakia in extra time. For the first time, the Final was transmitted on the radio. Four years later, Rimet saw his wish fulfilled when the third FIFA World Cup took place in France, his home country. Again not everything ran according to plan: Austria had disappeared from the scene and so Sweden did not have an opponent in the first round. Uruguay still did not wish to participate and Argentina withdrew. This is why the national teams from Cuba and the Dutch East Indies came to France. This time, there was no home victory and Italy successfully defended their title. The FIFA World Cup should have taken place for the fourth time in 1942 but the outbreak of World War Two meant otherwise. Although FIFA maintained its Zurich offices throughout the conflict, it was not until 1 July 1946 in Luxembourg that the Congress met again. Thirty-four associations were represented and they gave Rimet, who had been President for a quarter of a century already, a special Jubilee gift.

From now on, the FIFA World Cup trophy would be called the Jules Rimet Cup. As the only candidate, Brazil was chosen unanimously to host the next FIFA World Cup, to be staged in 1949 (and postponed to 1950 for time reasons). At the same time, Switzerland was given the option for 1954. History of FIFA World Cup Fact of the Day: a fun World Cup fact every day - CBBC Newsround World Cup Fact of the Day: a fun World Cup fact every day 13 July 2014 Newsround brings you a fun World Cup fact for everyday of the biggest tournament in football. To celebrate the biggest competition in football, Newsround is bringing you a footy fact for every day of the World Cup. 32. How many goals were scored in the 1958 World Cup final? The most goals ever scored in a World Cup final was seven in 1958, when Brazil played Sweden winning 5-2 in the final. Three World Cup finals have seen six goals scored, all of them finishing with the result 4-2. 31. How many times have Germany finished runners-up?

Germany have finished runners-up the most times, losing in the World Cup final on four occasions. Netherlands are next on the list, they've been the runners-up three times. 30. Which team has won all of the penalty shoot-outs they have been a part of? Germany, France, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy are the teams who have all ended up in the most penalty shoot-outs in the finals of the World cup, totalling four each. Although Germany are the only ones who have managed to win all four of them 29. How many goals did the French player Just Fontaine score in the 1958 World Cup? Legendary French football player Just Fontaine still holds the record for most goals scored by a player in a single world cup tournament. He scored 13 goals across 6 matches in the Swedish 1958 World Cup. 28. What was so special about Brazil's match against Cameroon? Brazil's match against Cameroon this year was pretty special in a number of ways. It was Brazil's 100th game in the history of the World Cup, and superstar Brazilian striker Neymar Jr scored the 100th goal of this year's tournament! 27.

How many appearances have Brazil and Germany made in a World Cup final? Brazil and Germany are the sides to have made it to the World Cup final the most times. They've clocked up 7 appearances each, but Brazil have done better when they've got that far, winning five out of those seven titles. They did however both meet in one final together in 2002, Brazil came out as the worthy winners. [After Germany's thrashing of Brazil in the 2014 semi-final, they now hold the record alone, reaching the final eight times.] 26. Goals galore The 1998 World Cup in France saw the highest number of goals scored by all the nations: the ball hit the back of the net a whopping 171 times. Host nation France topped the goal-scoring charts that year with 15 goals. Could this year overtake that? 25. Shirt numbers Shirt numbers were used for the first time at the 1954 World Cup. And the number you wear has a big impact on how much you might score.

In terms of the number of goals scored at World Cups, the most dangerous number to play against is number 9 - with number 10 close behind. 24. How have the other home nations fared? Northern Ireland reached the second round in 1982 and the first round in 1986, and made it as far as the quarter finals in Sweden in 1958. Wales also reached the quarter-finals in 1958, the only time they've qualified. Scotland have qualified for the World Cup eight times, but they've never yet made it past the group stages. 23. The youngest goalscorer Brazilian legend Pele was only 17 when he became the youngest player ever to score at the World Cup, in 1958 in Sweden. He went on to become one of the sport's greatest ever stars, and is one of just a handful of players to have scored in two World Cup finals. 22. What's the biggest ever scoreline? The biggest scoreline in World Cup history - in fact the worst defeat in international football - is 31-0, Australia's thrashing of American Samoa in qualifying, in April 2001.

21. Who's the oldest ever World Cup winner? Italian goalkeeping legend Dino Zoff was part of four World Cup squads. He played in three tournaments and then finally won in Spain 1982 at the ripe old age of 40 years, four months and 13 days. He also holds the record of 1,142 minutes without conceding a goal. 20. How much has this World Cup cost? This will be the most expensive World Cup to date, with the Brazilian government spending around $14 billion dollars (just over £8 billion). That's more than the last three tournaments put together and there were big protests across Brazil in the lead-up to the tournament, from people saying it's costing the country too much. 19. What has the Brazilian government hired in for the World Cup? Robots called Packbots have been hired by the Brazilian government, to help boost security during the World Cup. The robots have heat vision, are super strong and light, and can even climb stairs and work underwater! They have previously been used to help find and rescue people trapped in earthquakes. 18. In how many different cities will matches take place during the World Cup?

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will see matches take place in 12 different cities across Brazil. Matches will be played in: Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador, Cuiaba, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre. 17. Which team was the last nation to win the Jules Rimet World Cup? Italy was the last nation to win the Jules Rimet World Cup in 1938, a year before World War Two started putting the next two World Cups on hold. It's said the Italian Vice-President of FIFA hid the trophy in a shoe-box under his bed throughout the war to keep it safe. 16. What type of animal is the World Cup mascot? Fuleco the three-banded armadillo is the 2014 World Cup mascot for Brazil. The three-banded armadillo is an endangered species native to Brazil and his name is a combination of Futebol (football) and Ecologia (ecology). 15. Why was Diego Maradona's famous goal against England so controversial in the World Cup?

In the 1986 World cup in Mexico City, Argentinean Diego Maradona scored a controversial goal that has become known throughout football history as "the Hand of God". In the match against England, Maradona headed the ball into the net using his head and hand in what he later called: "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". 14. How many spaces does the base of the World Cup trophy have for the future winners? The base of the current World Cup trophy, which was introduced in 1974, has space for 17 inscriptions - enough for every winner until 2038. 13. Who scored the fastest goal in a World Cup? Hakan Suker of Turkey scored the fastest ever goal in the history of the World Cup, against South Korea in 2002. 10.8 seconds was all it took for the striker to score, a record which today still remains unbroken! 12. Who was the first player ever to get sent off in a World Cup?

During the opening match of the 1974 World Cup the Chilean player Carlos Caszely made history by being the first player ever to be sent off by a straight red card in a World Cup. 11. How far did the World Cup trophy travel on tour? The total distance covered by the World Cup trophy during its world tour before Brazil 2014, was 149,576.78 km (92,942.702 miles). That's more than three times around the world! 10. Who found the missing World Cup? On the 20th of March 1966 the original Jules Rimet World Cup trophy was stolen from an exhibition in London. It was found a week later by a small dog called Pickles, out on a walk with his owner. 9. How many players tested the Adidas Brazuca football? The new World Cup ball is pleasing to the eye but it has also gone through a rigorous testing procedure over the past two and a half years.

It was tested by more than 600 professional players and 30 teams in 10 countries across three continents, making the Brazuca the most tested ball in Adidas' history. 8. When was the World Cup first televised? The World Cup was first televised in Switzerland at the 1954 World Cup, but it wasn't until the 1970 World Cup that it was broadcast worldwide. Now it is one of the most viewed sporting events in the world. Last year's World Cup in South Africa attracted an audience of 3.2 billion people: around 46% of the world's population, and that doesn't include people who watched in on their mobile gadget or in a bar or restaurant! 7. How many World Cup matches have been decided by a penalty shoot-out? As of the start of the 2014 tournament, a total of 22 World Cup matches have been decided by a penalty shoot-out, since the rules came into effect in 1978. The most successful team at penalty shoot-outs is Germany, with four wins, and unfortunately England is the worst with three losses without wins. 6. How many people does the Maracana stadium seat?

The famous Maracana Stadium in Brazil will host the final of the World Cup this year, and can seat 73,531 people. The stadium opened in 1950 to host the World Cup, and a record-breaking 173,850 people paid for a ticket to watch the final match between Uruguay and Brazil game, but the actual attendance to the match was around 210,000 - a record for a team sports match that still remains today! 5. How many countries have hosted the World Cup twice? This is the second time that Brazil has hosted the world cup. The first time was in 1950. Only five countries have ever hosted the World Cup twice. 4. Which country has played the most matches at the World Cup? Before the start of the 2014 tournament, Germany had played 99 World Cup matches, more than any other nation, with Brazil coming a close second with 97. Germany played their 100th match against Portugal on 16 June. 3. Which country has won the World Cup the most?

Brazil is the most successful national football team in the history of the World Cup, with five championship wins under their belt. Brazil has also qualified for every World Cup match without the need for playoffs. 2. When did the World Cup first start? The first ever World Cup match was played in Uruguay in 1930. Thirteen teams from around the world competed, and the host nation Uruguay became the first ever nation to win the world cup with a 4-2 triumph over Argentina. 1. Why do Brazil play in a yellow kit? The Brazilian team originally played in a white kit, until they lost the World Cup at home in 1950. The kit was then seen as "cursed" and a campaign was launched to design a new one. An 18-year-old named Aldyr Garcia Schlee came up with the winning design of yellow and green shirts with blue shorts. The kit was nicknamed the "Canarinha" which means canary. Remember to check back every day for a new fact.

FIFA World Cup & Olympic Games Host Nations - worldfactsinc worldfactsinc FIFA World Cup & Olympic Games Host Nations FIFA WORLD CUP HOST NATIONS The FIFA World Cup has been played every four years (except during the World War years) since it's first tournament in 1930. Shown below is a list of the year, host nation and final score of each tournament since 1930. 1930 - URUGUAY - Uruguay 4 - Argentina 2. 1934 - ITALY - Italy 2 - Czechoslovakia 1. 1938 - FRANCE - Italy 4 - Hungary 2. 1950 - BRAZIL - Uruguay 2 - Brazil 1. 1954 - SWITZERLAND - West Germany 3 - Hungary 2. 1958 - SWEDEN - Brazil 5 - Sweden 2. 1962 - CHILE - Brazil 3 - Czechoslovakia 1. 1966 - ENGLAND - England 4 - West Germany 2. 1970. - MEXICO - Brazil 4 - Italy 1. 1974.

- WEST GERMANY - West Germany 2 - Netherlands 1. 1978. - ARGENTINA - Argentina 3 - Netherlands 1. 1982 - SPAIN - Italy 3 - West Germany 1. 1986 - MEXICO - Argentina 3 - West Germany 2. 1990 - ITALY - West Germany 1 - Argentina 0. 1994. -U.S.A - Brazil 3 - Italy 2. 1998 - FRANCE - France 3 - Brazil 0. 2002 - SOUTH KOREA - Brazil 2 - Germany 0. 2006 - GERMANY - Italy 5 - France 3. 2010 - SOUTH AFRICA - Spain 1 - Netherlands 0. 2014 - BRAZIL - Germany 1 - Argentina 0. 2018 - RUSSIA - The country that has won the most FIFA World Cup finals is Brazil, winning it five times. Italy has won it four times and Germany, including when it was known as West Germany, has won it three times.

Germany has played in the most FIFA World Cup finals, having chalked up eight finals to date. Six countries have won the FIFA World Cup on home soil when they were the tournament's host nations, they were Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, England in 1966, West Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 and France in 1998. In 1894 Baron de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee. Two years later in 1896 the modern Olympic Games were established. The first Winter Olympic Games were not introduced until 1924. The iconic five ring symbol of the Olympic Games was designed by Baron de Coubertin in 1912. The blue, black, red, yellow and green rings were chosen as they were the most predominant colours of the participating nation's flags. Today the five rings symbolise the five continents of the world.

The Olympic Games, as they were known in the early days, have been held every four years (except during the World War years) with the games held only in the summer at first, changing in 1924 to being held in both Summer and Winter of the same year and generally in the same country, but since 1994 the Summer games and Winter games have been held alternately every two years and are generally held in two separate countries. The first Paralympic Games were introduced in Rome in 1960 and have been held along with the Summer Olympic Games ever since. The Winter Paralympic Games were introduced in 1976, with the first four Winter Paralympic Games all being held in separate locations to the Winter games until 1992. Shown below is a list of the year and host nation of each Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games since 1896. 1924 - Paris, France (Summer) - Chamonix, France (Winter) 1928 - Amsterdam, Netherlands (Summer) - St Moritz, Switzerland (Winter) 1932 - Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

(Summer) - Lake Placid, New York, U.S.A (Winter) 1936 - Berlin, Germany (Summer) - Garmisch, Germany (Winter) 1948 - London, England, U.K. (Summer) - St Moritz, Switzerland (Winter) 1952 - Helsinki, Finland (Summer ) - Oslo, Norway (Winter) 1956 - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Summer) - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy (Winter) 1960 - Rome, Italy (Summer) & first combined Summer Paralympic Games - Squaw Valley, California, U.S.A. (Winter) 1964 - Tokyo, Japan (Summer) - Innsbruck, Austria (Winter) 1968 - Mexico City, Mexico (Summer) - Grenoble, France (Winter) 1972 - Munich, Germany (Summer) - Sapporo, Japan (Winter) 1976 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Summer ) - Innsbruck, Austria (Winter) - First Winter Paralympic Games - Ornskoldvik, Sweden.

1980 - Moscow, Russia (Summer) - Lake Placid, New York, U.S.A. (Winter) - Winter Paralympics - Geilo, Norway. 1984 - Los Angeles, Californa, U.S.A. (Summer) - Sarajevo, situated at that time in the former Yugoslavia, now present day Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Winter) - Winter Paralympics - Innsbruck, Austria. 1988 - Soeul, South Korea (Summer) - Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Winter) - Winter Paralympics - Innsbruck, Austria. 1992 - Barcelona, Spain (Summer) - Tignes - Albertville, France (Winter) & first combined Winter Paralympics. 1994 - Lillehammer, Norway (Winter) Summer & Winter Olympic Games now held every alternate two years. 1996 - Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. (Summer) 1998 - Nagano, Japan (Winter) 2000 - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Summer) 2002 - Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.

(Winter) 2004 - Athens, Greece (Summer) Football World Cup winners list | FIFA soccer WC champion teams, history Football World Cup winners list Published on Jun 20, 2014 Take a close look at the greatest football teams on earth: the FIFA World Cup champions. The World Cup, also known as the Mundial or Copa do Mundo, has been held 19 times since it inaugural tournament in 1930. It has been won by eight different teams, with Brazil having the most World Cup titles with five, followed by Italy with four, and West Germany with three. Argentina and Uruguay have two titles each while England, France, and Spain have one title. Below is a year-by-year account of all the World Cup champion teams. 1930 FIFA World Cup Final score: Uruguay 4-2 Argentina Host country: Uruguay The 1930 World Cup was staged in Uruguay and it was the host country that won the championship. In the final match, the Uruguayans saw themselves trailing behind Argentina by 2-1 but managed to turn things around in the second half by scoring three goals. Uruguay became the first World Cup winner with a 4-2 score.

1934 FIFA World Cup Final score: Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia (Extra time) Host country: Italy The 1934 World Cup was once again won by the host country and this time it was Italy that took the trophy. Playing against Czechoslovakia, Italy imposed a very tough defense but the visiting team breached the Italian line in the 70th to lead 1-0. Italy retaliated to make the game 1-1 before the end of regulation and bagged the win in overtime by a 2-1 tally. 1938 FIFA World Cup Final score: Italy 4-2 Hungary Host country: France Italy retained its crown in the 1938 World Cup in France. In the final match against Hungary, the Italians broke clear with a 3-1 score at halftime and finished the game 4-2. 1950 FIFA World Cup Final score: Uruguay 2-1 Brazil Host country: Brazil The World Cup was not staged again until 1950 because of the Second World War. Played in Brazil, this edition of the Mundial saw one of the biggest upsets in football history when the host country lost to the Uruguay football team.

Brazil was highly favored to win in the final match with Uruguay, which was lowly rated after not qualifying in the two previous World Cups. The Brazilians scored two minutes into the second half and everything seemed to be going well for them. However, Uruguay tied on the 66th minute mark and scored anew on the 79th to steal the 1950 World Cup trophy. 1954 FIFA World Cup Final score: West Germany 3-2 Hungary Host country: Switzerland The 1954 World Cup saw another major upset: In the group stage, the Hungarians trashed West Germany 8-3 and was highly favored to win when the two teams met again in the final. Scoring two goals after only eight minutes, the Hungarian football team looked like they were on a smooth way to the Mundial trophy. However, West Germany equalized within the first half and, just five minutes before the end of regulation, broke away with another goal to win 3-2. 1958 FIFA World Cup Final score: Brazil 5-2 Sweden Host country: Sweden Host Sweden matched up against Brazil in the final of the 1958 World Cup.

The Swedish football team opened the scoring but found themselves trailing by 2-1 at the end of the first half. Brazil played top-class football for the rest of the second half and finished the game 5-2. Brazil’s successful campaign was spurred by one of the greatest footballers in history , Pele, who played his first Mundial in this year. 1962 FIFA World Cup Final score: Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia Host country: Chile In the 1962 World Cup, Brazil faced Czechoslovakia in the final match without its goal-scoring genius, Pele, as he was injured in the first round. The Czechoslovakians struck the first goal but the Brazilians showed their offensive flare to emerge as victors with a 3-1 score. This was the second of five World Cup trophies in the Brazilian football team’s history. 1966 FIFA World Cup Final score: England 4-2 West Germany (Extra time) Host country: England England faced West Germany at the final of the 1966 World Cup. The Germans found the back of the net first but the English equalized by halftime, 1-1.

In the second half, the English pulled away with a goal’s lead but West Germany scored before the end of regulation to take the game into overtime with a 2-2 score. Englishman Geoff Hurst, who had one goal in regulation, scored twice in overtime to make England World Cup winners and to become the only player ever to score a hat trick in a Mundial final. The 1966 victory is the only World Cup trophy in the English football team’s history as of present. 1970 FIFA World Cup Final score: Italy 3-1 West Germany Host country: Spain The 1982 World Cup title is the third of Italy. It was not an easy one, as the Italians barely survived elimination in the first round. The first half of the final game did not prove to be inspiring either, as Italy missed a penalty that would have opened the scoring. However, Italy managed to squeeze a goal on the 56th minute and followed it up with two more goals to lead 3-0. West Germany scored a goal in the 82nd minute to finish the game honorably, 3-1.

1986 FIFA World Cup Final score: Brazil 0-0 Italy (3-2 pen) Host country: United States The 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, is the fourth occasion that Brazil would rip the highest honor in football. In the final match, neither Brazil nor its opponent, Italy, scored in the regulation and extra periods so the game was forced into a penalty shootout. Both sides missed on their first attempt but Brazil converted its following shots while Italy suffered two more misses to lose 3-2 in the shootout. The biggest disappointment came to Italian football hero Roberto Baggio, who led his team throughout the tournament only to miss his chance from the penalty spot in the final game. 1998 FIFA World Cup Final score: France 3-0 Brazil Host country: France The 1998 World Cup trophy was competed between 32 teams and it was France that emerged triumphant. The French survived the quarter finals through a penalty shootout against Italy and defeated Croatia in the semis with a 2-1 score. They went on to the final to square up with Brazil.

The final belonged to French football legend Zinedine Zidane who scored two goals in regulation to make victory imminent for the host country. His efforts were complemented by Emmanuel Petit, who added another goal in stoppage period. The match ended 3-0 for the first World Cup title in France’s football squad history. 2002 FIFA World Cup Final score: Brazil 2-0 Germany Host country: South Korea & Japan The 2002 World Cup was the first to be held in Asia and saw Brazil become the winner once again. Ronaldo scored both of Brazil’s goals to surge pass Germany 2-0 in the final match. The brilliant striker finished as 2002 top scorer but it was the football goalkeeping legend Oliver Kahn of Germany who bagged the award for the tournament’s best player, the Golden Ball. (This World Cup, with Korea and Japan as hosts, is the first to be hosted by two nations.) 2006 FIFA World Cup

Question: Which country hosted the 1954 World Cup?
Answer: Switzerland